My Right Hand
by petran
Summary: As Naruto struggles to deal with life as an amputee, he becomes much closer to a certain lavender-eyed kunoichi. Canonically set in the time period between the end of the 4th Shinobi War and "Kakashi Hiden". Cover image drawn by Sasaki-NH, used here with her permission
1. Chapter 1: Ramen

**This is a fanfic I've been meaning to write for quite some time now...**

 **I had originally planned to write this after I had completed "Konoha Hiden - The Wedding". But then Sasaki-NH asked me if I wanted to have some fanart drawn as thanks for translating her work into English. I told her that I always had an image of Hinata holding an umbrella over an amputee Naruto and walking with him under the rain. She drew it for me and it turned out so well, that I just had to write this right now.**

 **So, what is this fanfic about?**

 **In "Kakashi Hiden" ("Kakashi's Story" in the US) we find out that Naruto spent a considerable amount of time as an amputee -he is still one armed when the book starts, set one year after the end of the 4th Shinobi War- and in "Shikamaru Hiden" we find out that Naruto and Hinata spent a lot of time together after the end of the war.**

 **In my mind, the two are connected. Hinata helped Naruto deal with losing his hand and the two grew closer as a result… Until Naruto got his prosthetic at least.**

 **This fanfic attempts to tell the story of that one year. How Naruto and Hinata strengthened their friendship after the war... and why they didn't up together before the events of "The Last".**

* * *

It doesn't rain very often in Konoha, but when it rains, it _pours_.

Naruto looked at the young woman that was currently holding an umbrella over his head. Her clothes were slowly getting more soaked and her long black hair were slowly getting more wet as she did her very best to weather him from the storm. She carefully held the umbrella against the wind's direction, making sure that most of the rain didn't reach him. For some strange reason it seemed that her priority was to protect him rather than keep herself dry.

She had a bright smile on her lips. As if she didn't mind getting wet. As if she didn't mind the droplets of rain that were slowly accumulating on her face. As if being with him like this was something she genuinely cherished.

Naruto thought it was the most beautiful thing he had even seen...

It was like a small piece of sunshine, warming his heart, and easing his worries...

Come to think of it, "Hinata", her name, meant "Sunshine" didn't it?

Sunshine under the rain… For some reason this seemed to describe her _perfectly_.

"Why are you smiling like this, Naruto-kun?"

The blonde ninja used his left intact arm to absent-mindedly ruffle his hair and grinned.

"I just thought of something funny."

The young woman leaned closer to him. For a very brief moment her shoulder touched the stump that once was his right hand…

...Jolts of electricity passed through his entire body, as if he was suddenly struck by lightning.

"Is there something wrong, Naruto-kun?"

"No-nothing!"

Why was he stuttering? Why was he reacting this way?

What was that strange thing he was feeling?

He couldn't quite describe it. The closest thing he could compare it with was with what he was feeling whenever he ate ramen. Whenever he ate ramen he felt happy, he felt content. He felt fulfilled.

Being with Hinata felt similar to what he felt when he ate ramen. Whenever she was by his side he also felt happy and content. But while with ramen those feelings subsided when he finished eating it (probably why he ate so much of the stuff, now that he thought about it), with Hinata those feelings kept going.

Whenever he was with her, he didn't just feel happy and content. He felt strong. He felt confident. He felt _complete_.

A wide grin formed once more on his face, following this train of thought.

It had all started with ramen...

* * *

 _Ten Months Ago…_

"Dammit! Dammit! DAMMIT!"

Ichiraku Teuchi looked at his best client with a look of concern on his face as he struggled for what had to be the tenth time to bring some of the food to his mouth. Naruto had just gotten an exit pass from the Konoha Hospital, and, after experiencing the utter horror that was hospital food (which is apparently bad in all known multiverses), he had a huge craving for ramen…

...the problem was that he couldn't _quite_ eat it.

Naruto was right-handed. He was used to handling the majority of his everyday tasks with his right hand. He didn't think much about losing it at first, but now that he was out of the hospital and expected to fend for himself, he found out that he couldn't do many of the menial tasks that he used to do without much thought before. The simple act of putting his apartment keys on his keyhole and turning them around to open the door was extremely difficult…

...and properly holding a pair of chopsticks was near freaking _impossible_!

"Can't you summon some clones to help you out?"

"It wouldn't help much… They won't be better at holding chopsticks…" explained Naruto "And they will probably try to eat my ramen themselves, those selfish bastards!"

The restaurant owner nodded in understanding. Naruto used his shadow clones so frequently, it was easy to forget that each clone had a mind of its own.

"I will bring you some gyoza. It will be easier for you to pick up." he said as he patted his best client's back and went inside the kitchen to prepare them. "Don't worry, it's on the house."

"Thanks old man, I appreciate it." he said as he sported one of his trademarked smiles.

But as soon as Teuchi went back in the Kitchen, the smile disappeared and a bitter expression replaced it. His recent discussion with Tsunade came back to the front of his mind.

* * *

 _"What do you mean, it's not ready yet?"_

 _"I am sorry Naruto, but making a fully functional hand out of a bunch of cells, especially one that is compatible with your genetic makeup, is going to take time."_

 _"How much 'time' are we talking about here?"_

 _"About a year or so…"_

* * *

A year? A year?! He couldn't take another **minute** of this, never mind a freaking year!

The ramen looked so appetizing. The smell of Miso Pork tickled his nostrils. But you needed dexterity in order to handle a pair of chopsticks and you needed another arm in order to put the ramen bowl on your mouth and start drinking the broth…

He was half-tempted to just slam in head inside the bowl and just start eating with his mouth like a dog. But people were actually looking at him now, admiring him and praising him. Kids on the street kept telling him how much he inspired them and that they hoped to become as strong as him. He wasn't the pint-shaped brat that struggled for attention anymore. He was a world renowned hero…

And world renowned heroes didn't put their heads inside ramen bowls like dogs.

He envied Sasuke in this regard.

People weren't looking up to him. He could behave as bad as he wanted, as long as he didn't hurt anybody. Plus, he had lost his _left_ arm, which meant he could still somehow handle things like eating with chopsticks and opening doors with relative ease.

A sense of gloom surrounded him… He was so lost in his thoughts that he nearly didn't notice the two familiar figures that entered the ramen stand. Or rather one familiar figure and his faithful canine companion.

"Oh, Naruto, you're here?"

"Oh, hey Kiba." said the blonde ninja trying to make light conversation. "Are you about to go on a mission?"

"Nah, we just came back from one actually. We just finished reporting to the hokage."

The tracker sat on a chair, taking extra care to let a vacant chair between him and Naruto, as his ninken rested his head on his lap.

"We were about to pay you a visit at the hospital, to tell you the truth, but Akamaru picked up your scent here and we thought we would greet you and have a snack before heading home."

Naruto couldn't help but smile.

"Thanks man, I appreciate it. Why don't you seat here right next to me? It will be easier to talk to you this way."

"Oh, no! I can't! This seat is taken."

"Really? By whom?"

Kiba let out one of his biggest grins.

"You know who."

He heard the flap on the restaurant sign lift and he turned around to see a womanly figure enter. She bowed gently towards him.

"Hallo Naruto."

"Hallo Hinata."

He hadn't seen her in over a month. She came to visit him in the hospital almost daily, for the first few days he was in there, but then she went on a long mission and he hadn't seen her since. It was clear that she had just returned from it: her hair was all tangled and her clothes were dusty and in disarray. And yet she still maintained an air of grace and elegance.

Naruto winced as the kunoichi sat right next to him…

...now he _really_ couldn't put his face inside the ramen bowl.

 _"Come on! Talk to him!"_ whispered Kiba _"You haven't seen him in like a month!"_

 _"I don't know Kiba, he doesn't seem very happy to see me here."_

Naruto held the chopsticks on his left hand and smiled as he finally managed to grab some of that sweet, _sweet_ ramen and bought it close to his mouth. He opened his mouth widely in order to finally taste it…

And then the chopsticks slipped down from his hand again and fell down on the floor, taking the noodles with them.

He looked down at his lost food dejectedly and kneeled down to pick up his chopsticks again. He felt like crying. At this rate he would starve or drive himself crazy before his hand was ready!

.

.

.

...It was then he felt her palm on his cheek...

 _"So that's what the problem was…"_ she whispered softly as she smiled at him.

And that's _all_ it took for all his problems to melt away.

"Allow me, Naruto-kun."

She lifted up his chopsticks from the floor and laid them down on the table. She then collected a new pair from near the counter, split them open, and picked up some of the noodles in Naruto's ramen bowl.

Naruto was so astonished from her act of kindness that he could only stare at her.

Was Hinata actually going to do this?

"Ah! We got some of the broth on the floor!"

She lifted up Naruto's ramen bowl and held it directly below his face. She picked up some of the ramen again and blew on the noodles so that they wouldn't be too hot. Her breath breezed against his skin, the smell of her mixing in with the smell of freshly cooked ramen. For a brief moment he thought she was an angel.

She put the noodles right in front of his mouth.

"Now say 'Aaaah'."

Yes, she was _actually_ going to do this.

She didn't need to ask twice. Heck, at this very moment the way she was standing, smiling, with the ramen right in front of him, she could have asked him for his immortal soul and he would have gladly given it to her.

Naruto eagerly opened up his mouth and savoured the taste of freshly cooked ramen. He sucked the noodles eagerly allowing as much of the broth as he could to enter his mouth without choking. He closed his eyes to fully appreciate their flavor and their texture as his palate was having sensations that it hadn't felt in a _long_ time.

But when he opened his eyes again he noticed that he had splashed broth all over Hinata's face…In his eagerness to eat ramen again he had forgotten how close she was to him.

"Am shorry Hin…"

"Sssh! Don't talk with your mouth full. It's alright."

When she saw that he had finally swallowed his mouthful she picked some more noodles, blew on them and brought them to his mouth once more.

He was hesitant to open his mouth. He didn't want to get broth all over her again.

"It's okay Naruto-kun. I am going to go home and clean up afterwards. So don't hold back for my sake."

He opened his mouth again but this time he took in his food much more slowly. He had his eyes fully open this time.

He didn't just savor his ramen.

He savored her presence...

He savored her smile...

He savored her kindness…

He savored _her_...

"Naruto-kun, are you crying?"

"It's nothing! It's just that I haven't had ramen in such a long time and right now it tastes so good it brings a tear to my eye, ya' know?"

Hinata let the bowl down on the table and picked up a napkin. She wiped up his tears and the broth that was starting to crust on his chin.

How could hands that fought so many battles feel so soft and delicate?

Guess her fighting style was called " **Gentle** Fist" for a reason.

"Now then… Shall we continue where we left off?"

"Yes, lets!"

She lifted the ramen bowl again and placed it between them. She picked up another portion of ramen and fed it to him.

* * *

The two of them were in their own separate world now. Nothing else was there, except soft touches, bright smiles, light blushes… and a bowl of Miso Pork Ramen.

A voice was heard from the background.

"Heeere's your gyoza!" said the elder restaurant owner as he came back from the kitchen.

He paused and looked at the young not-yet-couple.

"And… It looks like you won't need them after all."

"I'll have them! Want not, waste not!" grinned Kiba "Say, Teuchi, am I allowed to eat here with Akamaru?"

"You know that you and Akamaru are always welcome here…"

He saw Kiba wink and he realized the true purpose of his question.

"... But the health inspectors have been breathing down my neck lately. I am going to have to ask you to eat outside."

"Will do! Bring me some udon to go with my gyoza, and a plate of Kake-soba for my other partner. And some meat for Akamaru. Oh, and get Hinata a bowl of Miso Pork ramen. It's on me!"

The dog-nin took the gyoza and stepped outside leaving his two friends alone. He sat down on the outside table and breathed in the scents of his village. He couldn't wipe that grin off his face.

He spotted a lone hooded figure in the distance that he knew belonged to the fourth member of Team 8.

"Yo! Shino! Over here!"

He gestured for him to sit down on the opposite side of the table.

"I ordered some Kake-soba for you! Sit down!"

The hooded figure did so. He didn't say a word.

"Come on man! Say something!"

"You and me are sitting outside. Why? Because Naruto and Hinata are having a personal moment inside the restaurant."

"Dude! How do you know this? Have you received a report from one of your bugs?"

The hooded figure winced in disapproval.

"We have been partners for more than 10 years. I would appreciate if you didn't call my beetles 'bugs' as if they are an annoyance. Why? Because I live with them, I fight with them and they are my precious comrades."

"OK, man! Don't get your panties in a twist. It was a slip of the tongue. You don't have to be so uptight about this. Sheesh!"

The hooded figure adjusted his black glasses.

"Earlier,you inquired how I knew Hinata and Naruto were inside the restaurant. I knew this because I saw their legs standing next to each other."

"You are familiar with Hinata's and Naruto's _legs_?"

"The way they look in uniform, yes. Why? Because a good shinobi should be able to distinguish his fighting partner from the enemy at all times, especially at times when looking at their face is not an option such as…"

"OK! OK! I get it! Let's just enjoy our food! Here! Have some gyoza! It's on the house."

"You know I don't like them... Too strong taste for me."

"All the more for me then!"

The dog-nin smirked as he grabbed a gyoza and dipped it in soy sauce. He took one bite and gave the rest to it to his faithful canine companion who was staring at him with those "puppy dog eyes".

Shino could only shake his head. Kiba and Akamaru always shared _everything_. They had a special bond that was far stronger than that of a dog and its owner. Akamaru was essentialy a part of Kiba. As long as he knew them, the two of them lived together, walked together, fought together... And at one point he even caught them uri...

He banished the thought from him mind. He was about to eat. Still he couldn't help but feel _somewhat_ sentimental and nostalgic about his days with Team 8.

"By the way, Kiba…"

"Yeah?"

"How did you know to order Kake-Soba for me?"

"Man, we've been partners for more than 10 years. And in _all that time_ , I've never seen you order anything else."

A faint smile appeared on Shino's face.

"Kiba?"

"Yeah?"

"You, Akamaru and Hinata are also my precious comrades."

As soon as the order arrived they sat out and ate with each other in comfortable silence. After all this time, despite all their different personalities, Team 8 was still one of the closest-knit shinobi teams in Konoha.

"Do you think Hinata is going to be OK in there on her own?"

"I think she is going to be just fine. Why? Because there are four empty ramen bowls on the table and it seems like she hasn't fainted yet."

"Yeah… You'd think we would be picking her off the floor right about now." said the dog-nin as he let out a short chuckle.

"She seems to have gotten a lot more comfortable being around Naruto after the war, hasn't she?"

"I don't think that's only it. Hinata is always the strongest both physically and mentally when she is helping the ones she cares about. Right now she isn't letting her shyness take over. Why? Because she feels like Naruto needs her support, and she pushes herself to overcome her fears and stand by his side."

The two shinobi sighed in unison.

"I am so proud of her.'

"So am I. But she still has a long way to go. Why? Because eventually she will have to be able to stand by Naruto as an _equal_ , at a time when he _doesn_ ' _t_ need her help."

The dog-nin pondered this for a moment. His partner had a point.

"Do you think she will be able to do it?"

"I don't have the slightest doubt."

"We still have that contingency plan to ambush Naruto and brutally kick his ass in case he hurts her, right?"

"Of course."

The two of them nodded in silent agreement.

* * *

Inside the restaurant Naruto and Hinata had just finished their ramen and they were having a friendly conversation.

"From the bottom of my heart, Hinata, thank you! I thought I was going to drive myself crazy with this."

"You are welcome Naruto-kun. It was my pleasure."

He smiled at her and she began to blush. Now that she had finished feeding him, her natural shyness was beginning to take over again…

Their faces were so close just moments before. She could practically see her reflection inside his bright blue eyes. She could still feel his breath on her lips…

It took all the willpower she had to keep herself from going dizzy.

Kiba's voice reverberated inside her.

 _'Come on! Talk to him!'_

"Uhm… Naruto…"

"Yeah?"

"So… you really can't use chopsticks very well right now?"

For a brief moment, a dark-expression formed on the blonde ninja's face. It got immediately replaced by one of his patented grins but Hinata could clearly see that it was a fake one.

"I can still do one-handed seals and summon clones! I can still punch and kick some major ass! I am still a good fighter! I can still…"

Hinata held his face once more and looked at him with concern.

"You didn't answer my question, Naruto-kun."

Naruto always put up a strong face in front of people. He was always good at hiding his vulnerabilities and his problems. Always good at hiding his fears and his insecurities…

...but in front of Hinata that facade always seemed to crumble. She could always see through this mask of overconfidence and bravado and look straight at the man he always was.

She was the only one he could trust with his pain.

He looked dejectedly at the ground. His expression darkened once more.

"I can barely hold my apartment keys, let alone a pair of chopsticks. I used to do almost everything with my right hand and now that it's gone I can't do a lot of the things I used to do before. I can hardly eat, I can hardly dress, I can hardly wipe my own…"

He stopped himself just in time, right before he completed his last sentence.

"I'm sorry! I did mean to be so ass… **crass**! I MEANT CRASS! I MEANT CRASS!"

The lavender eyed kunoichi let out a light chuckle. It sounded like music to his ears lifting his spirits and soothing his soul.

"It's all right Naruto-kun! There aren't any children present, so express yourself freely when you are with me."

"Well… I am still sorry…"

"It's OK. And… how long before your prosthetic is finished?"

"Tsunade said it would take a year or so…"

"A...a year?"

"Yeah…"

"And how are you going to get by until then?"

"To tell you the truth…" the blonde ninja sighed "I don't have the slightest idea."

"I see…"

Hinata looked at the man she was in love with, the right sleeve of his shirt dangling where his hand used to be. It pained her to see him like this, and she knew that there wasn't anything that she could say to Naruto at this moment that would make him feel any better.

They both sat in silence for a while.

"Well, Hinata, It was nice talking to you. Thank you for helping me today."

He got up from his chair and got ready to leave.

"I'll catch you later."

It was then he felt a light tug on his empty sleeve pulling him back. He looked behind him to see Hinata still holding it.

"Uhm… Hinata? What is it?"

The lavender-eyed kunoichi looked at him intently. Maybe she couldn't say anything to Naruto that would make him feel better. But right now Naruto didn't need words. He needed _actions_.

"Naruto-kun?"

"Yes, Hinata?"

"Until your prosthetic is finished, please let **me** be your right hand."

At this point Naruto could come up with only one appropriate intelligent response.

"Say _what_?!"

And that's how everything started...

* * *

 **For those of you not familiar with Japanese cuisine Gyoza are dumplings filled with ground meat and vegetables and wrapped in a thin dough and Kake-Soba are plain noodles without any flavorings. Since Shino's bio says that he despises foods with strong scents and, as far as I know Ichiraku Ramen doesn't serve his favorite one (Green Salad) it makes sense that this is what he usually orders when he goes there.**

 **(Yes, I actually took time to research this stuff, I really have no life)**

 **Anyway, back to the fanfic.**

 **I intend for this fanfic to show how Naruto and Hinata interacted back when Naruto was an amputee, before he got his prosthetic arm. It will feature a series of moments that involve the Hinata helping Naruto deal with living with only his left arm, giving the strength to be more self-sufficient and doing various things for him. I even have lemon chapter planned...**

 **...How can there be a NaruHina lemon if the fic is set before "The Last" and is canon compliant? Let's just say I found a really good way to make it happen!**

 **Watch this space!**


	2. Chapter 2: Housework

**Gah! Sorry it took me so long to update. I got sidetracked by real life and some of my other projects so I couldn't work on this as much as I wanted. I will try to update this fic more consistently, but I am not making any promises.**

 **"dialogue"**

 **'thoughts'**

 _ **flashbacks**_

* * *

 _Nine Months and 29 Days ago…_

Naruto was dreaming of an **angel** …

It was a dream that he had many times...

The angel's form changed a lot throughout the years. It started as a small girl in winter clothes, then moved on to become a teen in a beige jacket and eventually became a grown woman in a purple jumpsuit. But two things remained consistent: her black hair (which grew longer as time passed), and her soft gentle voice, always calling out his name like he was the most precious person in the world.

Naruto could never quite make out the angel's features in his dreams. Or rather, he couldn't remember them clearly when he woke up. But the sight of the angel always made his heart fill with joy. It made his entire being warm.

It felt as if… she was always looking out for him… Always taking care of him…

He adored that angel!

He was so excited to see her again!

"Naruto-kun…"

"My angel…"

The angel was holding a bowl full of Ramen in front of her. It looked so tasty! Its mere smell made his mouth water with anticipation.

He saw the angel inch closer to him with the bowl on one hand and a pair of chopsticks on the other.

"Let me feed you again, Naruto-kun…"

' _Again'?_ What was that supposed to mean?

This was driving him crazy! Was the angel someone he knew in real life? He needed to see her clearly! To have a clear image to remember when he woke up!

Alas, he couldn't take his focus off of the ramen bowl. She watched the angel stir it with her chopsticks, and take out a generous serving.

"Here! Have a taste!"

No! He needed to resist the temptation of ramen! He needed to focus on the angel! To see her! To recognize her features!

It took all his willpower to raise his eyes from the ramen bowl but he eventually did it. He began to look past it and take the angel's features in. Her eyes were now beginning to form in front of him. They were white with a hint of lavender…

He began to hear a faint noise in the background. Like a door knocking loudly.

He ignored it. He wanted to look at the angel and eat her ramen!

"Oi! Naruto! Wake up!"

Come on! Just a little bit more!

He felt a slight tap on his shoulder. Who could it be?

He turned around and came face to face…

...with the _pink-haired demon_! The **hellspawn** that tortured him in his dreams! She was wearing red clothes and an oni-mask that covered the entirety of her forehead. Her hoarse and gruff voice was the stuff nightmares were made of.

"No, please! Go away! I want to stay with my angel!"

"They told you to wake up! SHANAROOOOOO!

The final thing he saw before waking up was a chakra-enhanced fist travel towards him at five times the speed of sound…

"NOOO!"

* * *

Naruto woke up with his face on the floor, drooling all over his black cat-shaped cap.

He had fallen off the bed again. Damn that pink-haired demon!

"We know you're in here! I can smell you, you know!"

He groggily got up from the floor, and headed towards the door.

He opened it up to find Hinata… along with Kiba and Shino…

Kiba immediately covered Hinata's eyes.

"Dude, put a shirt on, will ya?"

Naruto took a look at himself. He wasn't wearing anything from the waist up. Last night he managed to put on his pajamas' pants but he couldn't quite put the shirt on, so he slept without it.

"Uh… Sorry… I really didn't expect anybody today so..."

"I made a promise, didn't I Naruto-kun?" said Hinata as she made an effort to remove Kiba's hand away from her eyes.

Last night's conversation played back inside Naruto's head.

* * *

" _Until your right hand is healed, please let_ _ **me**_ _be your right hand Naruto-Kun."_

" _Say what?"_

 _Naruto looked at her face curiously. She had a look of quiet determination in her eyes._

 _Hinata held his empty sleeve tighter._

" _Let me help you get through this one year. If doing everyday tasks is as difficult as you described, I want to stand by your side and just be there for you. You don't have to go through this on your own, Naruto-Kun."_

" _Look, Hinata, I am touched and all, but… you really shouldn't. I mean, I have to become more self-reliant…"_

 _Hinata huffed and looked at his eyes intently._

" _I'll help you with_ _ **that**_ _too."_

* * *

He knew that Hinata was going to stay true to her words. That she wasn't going to go back on them…

...They shared the same nindo after all...

...He just wasn't expecting her to actually show up on his doorstep to make true on her promise, **on** _ **the very next day!**_

' _Oh crap! I'm not decent!'_

Naruto went back inside quickly and grabbed one of his white t-shirts that he used to put on underneath his yellow jacket. He tried to put it on as fast as he could, but it seemed that even the simple act of putting a t-shirt on was too much for him. He couldn't, for the life of him, get his face inside it so that he could pull it down and wear it. The t-shirt just dangled downwards from his left hand and kept slipping off his head as he tried to wear it.

' _Dammit, Dammit, DAMMIT!'_

"Please, allow me, Naruto-kun."

A pair of small delicate hands took his shirt from his hand and opened it up so that he could fit his head inside. Those same hands then pulled it downwards allowing his head to come out…

For a brief moment her fingers touched his bare chest as she fitted him his t-shirt. He jolted as he suddenly felt a previously unknown sensation. He couldn't quite describe it. It was like being tickled by a feather, except it felt... more pleasant, more exhilarating…

"Did I startle you?"

"No, no, no… It's just that I've never been touched by anybody there before and it felt a bit…"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"No, it's OK, it felt…"

" **Ahem!"**

Naruto and Hinata's heads turned to see the disapproving faces of Kiba and Shino who were still standing at the door.

Oh right, they were also there. He forgot.

"May we _please_ come in?"

"Uhm… Sure… Make yourselves at home…"

The rest of Team Eight walked inside his house carefully observing their surroundings. Kiba's face formed a rather painful expression as he took a long hard sniff.

"Man, your place **reeks!** How can you stand it?"

"He probably can't smell any of this. Why you ask? Because the human nose gets used to even the strongest smells in about six minutes. He is used to the way his house smells so he can't understand how bad it smells to others."

The blond ninja clenched his fists.

"Don't mind me guys, it's not like _I am listening to you_ or something."

He felt a light tug on the back and turned around to see Hinata smiling sweetly at him.

That's all it took to make his anger go away. He couldn't help but look into her eyes and smile back. Hinata had that sort of effect on him.

He addressed the two shinobi in front of him once more.

"What are you two doing here, by the way? I don't recall _you two_ making a promise to me or anything."

The boys of Team Eight looked at each other, trying to come up with a proper answer. What were they supposed to tell him? The truth? That Hinata felt uncomfortable going inside Naruto's place for the first time? That she needed them for emotional support and to ease her into it? That they had to make sure that she would be OK alone with him?

No, this wouldn't do at all.

Luckily their team-mate already had an excuse.

"Uhm… I told them to come here to help me with the cleaning."

" **Help you with the cleaning?!"** Naruto and the Team Eight boys responded simultaneously.

"Yes. Kiba-kun is a smell specialist so he can track garbage and dirt, while Shino-kun is a bug-specialist, which means he can take care of any insect related problems you might have."

Naruto scratched his head absentmindedly. This seemed to make sense to him.

"OK…I guess…I'll go get the brooms and stuff…"

"Do you even _have_ a broom man? I don't think this place has _ever_ been cleaned!"

"I think it's in the building's supplies closet… I think… I'll go check…"

When Naruto went a safe distance away, Kiba and Shino approached their teammate and looked at her intensely.

"We agreed to help you get accustomed to being inside Naruto's house, we didn't sign up to being freaking housemaids." said the dog-nin while his partner nodded silently in agreement.

"Please guys." Hinata said as she clasped her hands and bowed her head to them. "It's only for this time. You've seen the state his apartment is in! I can't let him live like this!"

Kiba and Shino looked at each other in panic. They could _never_ deny Hinata's requests whenever she was asking them like this. It was like kicking the biggest most adorable puppy in the world.

They both sighed and nodded.

"I swear, the things we do for you sometimes."

"Thank you Kiba-kun! And you! Shino-kun!"

"I believe we should wear some sort of protection before engaging in this task. Why you ask? Because Naruto's place is extremely dirty and will require us to get our hands dirty. We need to report to the Hokage in the afternoon and we can't do it with our mission clothes reeking like rotten garbage."

"Don't worry Shino-kun! I have this covered."

Hinata took out a scroll from her backpack and opened it. Kiba shook with fear as he saw what appeared in front of him.

"Oh, hell no!"

"Come on Kiba-kun! It's for your own protection!"

"Like hell! There's no way I'm gonna wear this! No freaking way!"

* * *

Naruto returned to find the entirety of Team Eight wearing aprons around their waists and bandanas on their heads. Shino's apron had a ladybug, Kiba's apron had a puppy and Hinata's apron had a bunny. Hinata was smiling brightly as she tightened her bandana while Kiba and Shino cringed like they wanted to disappear off the face of the earth.

"Remind me again, why I agreed to wear this…"

"She said it was either this or the maid outfit."

"Hand me my cleaning gloves."

The blonde ninja struggled not to laugh. Shino gave him a sharp intense look.

"I advise our blonde friend to not tell anyone about this. Why you ask? Because, if he does, I will install a bug inside his stomach that will convert everything he eats into acid giving him the most excruciating death imaginable."

Naruto immediately froze and shut his mouth up. He had a feeling Shino would actually do it.

"My lips are sealed."

"Now then!" Hinata said as she cheerfully approached her teammates. "Where should we start?"

* * *

Naruto watched in amazement as he saw Team Eight go to work at his house. Their teamwork was truly a sight to behold. They took even the mundane task of cleaning a house very seriously each one completing the other flawlessly. Hinata activated her byakugan and gathered the dust that had accumulated all around the house with a series of vacuum palms, Kiba used his advanced sense of smell to locate garbage that was out sight (and out of mind), and Shino used his bugs to clean the mold that had formed on the walls, inside the kitchen, inside the bathroom and inside the refrigerator.

Not that they worked without any problems...

"Why don't you let me take them out with the bug spray man? It's freaking roach _infestation_ over here!"

"Why you ask? Because cockroaches are a valuable part of the city's ecosystem. They eat excess filth and prevent more serious diseases from spreading in the populace. It's wrong to kill such brilliant creatures."

"They're freaking _bugs_ man!"

"I told you not to call them bugs. They are _insects_. And they are _precious_."

But when something like that happened, Hinata always stepped up and bought their teamwork back to its usual excellent state.

"Shino-kun, I agree that cockroaches are valuable and shouldn't be killed but we can't just leave them inside Naruto's place. And Kiba-kun, the infestation is near the refrigerator. If you just take them out with bug spray, you might get Naruto-kun poisoned."

Shino and Kiba both looked at Hinata expectantly.

"What do you suggest we do?"

"How about a non-lethal solution?"

Kiba and Shino both nodded in agreement. Kiba opened the window while Shino summoned a swarm of bikochu beatles. The beatles went towards the roach nest and then walked in unison towards the open window. The cockroaches started following after them, leaving Naruto's apartment completely. Shino then summoned a completely different swarm of beetles which cleaned up what was left of the roach nest.

Naruto was amazed.

"Dude, what did you just do?"

"I summoned a swarm of bikochu beatles that mimicked a cockroach's mating pheromone which made the roaches move out of the house. I then summoned a special kind of beetle that ate cockroach eggs in order to clean up the nest and make sure the cockroaches don't respawn."

"Beatles can do that?"

"There are over a million species of beetles in this world." Shino assured him "They can do _anything!_ "

"You're so full of crap, man!" Cried Kiba as he joined in the conversation "Killing roaches with bug spray is wrong while having other insects eating their eggs is somehow right?"

"I follow the circle of life and I don't pollute the environment with harmful chemicals, to which the insects will grow resistant to anyway. Besides, it's not like I haven't done this before. A species of beetles that I often use in battle feeds on Akamaru's lice eggs."

" _Akamaru doesn't have lice_!"

"And why do you think _that_ is, hmmm?"

Kiba shut down the window in anger in order to prevent any insects from reentering the room.

"I swear! You better not put any bugs on me or there will be hell to pay!"

A loud clap by Hinata diverted the boys attention.

"Guys! Look around you! We did it!"

Naruto's apartment was now sparkling clean! There wasn't a speck of dust in sight.

…To say that Naruto was impressed would be an understatement. The three of them had operated with the efficiency of a well oiled machine. Kiba was the motor, Shino was the gears, while Hinata was the grease that kept the machine operational and going. He didn't think it was even remotely _possible_ for _anybody_ to clean his apartment. And yet, here was Team Eight managing to do so in _a couple of hours!_

'Must be because of the familiarity, they have with each other.' Naruto thought. "Each one knows each other's strengths and weaknesses and they do their best to complement each other."

He couldn't help but feel a small pang of pain in his chest when he realized that it was Kiba and Shino, _not him_ who knew Hinata in that sort of way.

A part of him wondered what would have happened if he was assigned to be with Hinata back then in the academy. What sort of teamwork would he have with her? Would he complete her the same way Shino and Kiba did? Would he have formed as strong a bond with her?

Not that he didn't have a bond with her. It's just that… he wished he was more _there_ for her when she struggled to overcome adversity and become a ninja…

… The same way her comrades were there for her…

...The same way she was there for him right now…

He saw Hinata sit down on his table and take out a scroll from her backpack. She opened the scroll on the table and placed a bit of chakra on it. Four boxes appeared. Hinata gestured them to sit down close to her and hand them one box each.

"Kiba-kun, I prepare you some barbequed meat. and Shino-kun, I made you some green salad. I felt a bit bad for asking you to do this so I thought I should prepare you your favorite sort of food to thank you for helping me out."

"Hey, helping you wasn't so bad! We finished in what? Two hours?"

"Two hours and 12 minutes" Shino interjected. "It really wasn't so bad. But I would have prefered if we didn't wear those aprons and those bandanas."

"I personally think the bandanna suits you, Shino-kun!" Hinata said with a light smile."You have a really nice face, you should show it a bit more."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

Naruto swore that he saw Shino blush for a few fractions of a second…

He felt jealous! He wanted Hinata to compliment him on his appearance too, dammit!

"Come sit down with us Naruto-kun!"

She gestured towards a box with a whirlpool sign on top of it.

"Is this… for me?"

"Yes! I made it for you!"

Naruto sat down on the table and eagerly opened the box that Hinata had prepared for him. He couldn't wait to see what she had in store for him. Kiba and Shino got their favorite food so she probably prepared some sweet homemade ramen that she knew he would enjoy. It was probably hidden under all those vegetables or something…

Wait a minute...

...vegetables?

VEGETABLES?!

 _ **HE! HATED! VEGETABLES!**_

"Uhm… Hinata…"

"Yes, Naruto-kun?"

"Did I do something bad to you or something?"

"Why? Is there something wrong?"

"It's nothing… It's just… How come Kiba and Shino get their favorite stuff, and I get vegetables?"

Hinata's look turned serious.

"Naruto-kun… I've been observing you. All you eat these days is ramen. This is not healthy. You are going to get seriously ill if you don't change your eating habits."

"But… I don't like…"

She gave him a stern stare that made him freeze in place.

"Your life is no longer just your own Naruto-kun! You need to take better care of yourself!"

A painful image from the past flashed in front on his eyes. He got reminded of… that time…

She was right. His life was no longer his own. People relied on him, people cared for him, they sacrificed themselves for him. He needed to stay healthy and in shape. He needed to make sure that other people could rely on him, the same way he was relying on them.

Hinata got up and sat down next to him. She took the pair of chopsticks that were on the table, next to him, and held them up in the air balancing them carefully.

' _Oh well.'_ he thought ' _if Hinata is going to feed me again, then maybe it won't be so bad.'_

He closed his eyes and opened his mouth, expecting a mouthful of food…

...Instead he felt Hinata place the chopsticks on his left hand.

She wasn't going to feed him?

"Here! With this, you will be able to eat on your own Naruto-kun!"

Naruto looked at the chopsticks on his left hand. Hinata had attached some sort of rubber figurine to them. It looked a lot like him.

"What is this?"

"It's a chopstick helper. "

"A chopstick helper?"

"Yes! It will help you grab your chopsticks more easily! I used to train Hanabi with them when she was young, and I thought that they would also help you until you get your prosthetic done."

He squeezed the chopsticks and tried moving them around. Hinata was right. The figure really did help him hold the chopsticks more efficiently. The food no longer slipped from his hands, he could now effectively eat food on his own…

...which meant Hinata was no longer going to feed him…

"What do you think? I promised you I was going to help you be more self-reliant, didn't I?"

Why, yes. Yes, she _did_ make that promise.

 **Damn, Damn, Bloody Damn!**

"Thank you, I love it" lied Naruto in a half-hearted tone.

"Why don't you try eating the food I have prepared for you with it?"

Naruto sighed and grabbed some of the food from the box and placed it inside his mouth. He closed his mouth and started chewing, expecting to hate every minute of it. He despised vegetables all his life, he wasn't going to start liking them now…

...it tasted... good?!

He took another bite and sampled it. It _still_ tasted good!

He took another bite, and another… He actually _liked_ this!

He couldn't believe it! Hinata could actually make _vegetables_ taste great!

"This is really good Hinata! What is it?"

"It's my Chicken Salad glazed with my own special sauce.."

He wanted to know more about her special sauce, but he decided that this would distract him from eating and so he focused on gorging himself instead. He saw Hinata smiling contently as she watched him eat his food from her bento. If you opened up a dictionary and looked for the word 'satisfaction', you would see her face plastered all over the page.

"Do you like my food Naruto-kun?"

"Mm-hm! I luf if!"

"Then from now on, I will make food for you as often as I can, how about it?"

Naruto nodded as he stuffed the last few bites of his bento inside his mouth.

Shino and Kiba just shook their heads. Eventually they both got up and headed for the door. They gestured to Hinata to get up as well.

"Well, it was nice feeding you, helping you clean and all, but we have to head to the Hokage tower for a mission. Hinata, we really should get going."

Naruto looked dejected.

"You're leaving?!"

"Well, the world doesn't stop for anyone. We are still shinobi, we still have to go on missions, and we still have to report to our superiors."

Hinata took out one final scroll and procured a few more boxes from it. She then wrote something on a piece of paper and placed it on the table next to them. She bowed gently at Naruto and followed her team outside.

He felt a pang on his chest as the door closed. A feeling of cold emptiness and loneliness, as if his entire world was drained of sunlight…

...He really wished Hinata would have stayed behind.

Alas, Kiba was right. The world didn't stop for him. Hinata, along with the rest of Team Eight, would still need to go on missions and go outside Konoha for a long time. And even when she returned, and she stayed by his side, she would still need to go back and sleep at the Hyuga compound.

The world didn't stop for anyone, not even for him.

He took a look at the note Hinata left him.

 _My dearest Naruto-kun,_

 _I left you enough food for three days. You can put the boxes in the fridge, and heat them up slightly on your stove whenever you are hungry and want to eat a healthy meal. Please take care of yourself while I am away, okay?_

 _I will come and see you as soon as I return._

 _Hinata_

A wide smile formed on his lips.

 _She said she would return to him!_

He put the food Hinata prepared for him inside the fridge and lied down on the bed with Hinata's note on his intact hand. He took a closer look at it noting its delicate and beautiful handwriting.

Why did she address him as "My Dearest Naruto-kun" in her note?

He didn't know. But it made him feel giddy!

He closed his eyes and placed Hinata's note on his chest. A strange warmth was overtaking him. It felt like a gentle sunbeam inside his heart.

* * *

The image of the dark-haired angel formed in front of Naruto once more. She was holding a bento box on her hands.

"I made some food for you, Naruto-kun!"

He watched the angel open up the box, and grab a few vegetables with her chopsticks. She held them up in the air.

"You need to eat more healthy, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto dashed towards the angel as fast as he could. This time he _would_ see who she was! He _would_ remember her face when he woke up in the morning!

There was a loud crash and a dust cloud of debris as a figure appeared between him and the angel.

Was it the pink-haired demon again?

He didn't care! Whatever it was, he would kick its ass!

He looked at the figure as it emerged from the rubble.

It wasn't the pink-haired demon. It was something… else…

It looked like him, but it was chibi-shaped, fully orange and it moved in a strange conjoined way, as if its entire body was made of rubber.

In fact _it was_ made entirely of rubber!

"Go away! I need to go to my angel so that she can feed me!"

He tried punching the figure but his punches got bounced right back at him. He tried rasengan but it just shrugged it off. None of his attacks worked!

The figure stretched out its hand and wrapped it around him. He struggled to break free, but it was useless!

"No need! **I** will be the one to feed you from now on!"

The rubber figure grabbed the angel's bento with its other hand and bought it in front of Naruto.

"It's time to eat your veggies!"

 **"** **NOOOO!"**

* * *

Naruto woke up with his face on the floor once more, his eyes now wide open.

He looked bitterly at the direction of the "Chopstick-Helper" that Hinata had bought for him.

"My angel didn't feed me today because of you." He growled at the rubber figure " _I hate you._ "

The figure just grinned at him.

* * *

 **And there you have it! The second chapter of "My Right Hand". Finally!**

 **So why did it take me so long to update?**

 **Quite simply I am into typesetting. I collaborate with translators and artists in order to make doujin legible in the US. The typesetting jobs just didn't leave me enough time to update my fanfics.**

 **But with NaruHina Week (formerly NaruHina Month) uproaching and an "Unawareness Period" prompt, I decided it was high time to finally finish the second chapter...**

 **...which is actually the *third* chapter I wrote. This was supposed to be just a small flashback to the day Hinata visited Naruto's home for the first time, but it ended up being too big and too bulky to be just a few side paragraphs. So I gave that encounter a separate chapter, and made the second chapter the third chapter.**

 **So the good news is that the third chapter is almost done (just a few edits here and there) which means you won't have to wait for a full year to get to read it this time.**

 **This was as much a "Team Eight" chapter as much as it was a NaruHina chapter. I love their dynamic and their interactions, and I really wish they were used more on the show and the manga. So there wasn't much fluff and romance. It was more of a "fun" chapter than anything else. Don't worry, the third chapter will get back to the "feels".**

 **The whole thing about Naruto dreaming about the angel (no prizes on guessing who it actually it) is his subconscious trying to tip him off about Hinata and how he feels about her. The idea is that Naruto already has feelings for Hinata, he just doesn't realize that they are romantic ones and that Hinata also loves him in that sort of way. This will start becoming more apparent in the next chapter.**

 **Please leave a review and tell me what you think! The fact that people still left reviews for the fanfic even months after it was initially posted is a big reason on why I decided to update it after all this time. Do you think I got the characters right? Do you like where the story is going? What were the parts that made you smile and the parts that made you cringe? Your words mean a lot to me!**


	3. Chapter 3: Bento

**As I said, the third chapter was half-written so I finished it a lot quicker. The next chapter is going to be done from scratch so it will probably take me a bit longer to update. I will try to provide regular updates, I really love this setting, but, as always, I am not making any promises. It will depend on the response I get.**

* * *

 **"dialogue"**

 **'thoughts'**

 _ **flashbacks**_

* * *

 **Nine months ago…**

Naruto came back from his scheduled trip at the hospital to find some bags hanging on his apartment's door handle. There was a note pinned on the door. He recognized the handwriting immediately.

 _My dearest Naruto-Kun,_

 _I prepared some food for you. I hope you enjoy it._

 _Hinata._

He grinned widely. It had become a sort of a routine for him. Every time he came back home, either from the hospital, or from a mission there was some food on the door waiting.

He didn't know how she did it. One would expect that her schedule would get in the way. That she would be on long missions, that she would _want to take a freaking break_ from making food for him every now and then. But no, that bag full of food was always waiting there for him, always hanging on his door handle.

He looked forward to receiving it in fact. It somehow felt special to have somebody like Hinata cook for him. It was the first time somebody was doing something like that for his sake.

He lowered the bag on the ground as he picked up the key from his pocket and unlocked the door. He inwardly felt a small sense of satisfaction as he realized that he was now able to do it a lot easier.

* * *

"I'm home…"

There was no response…

He sighed and slumped as he went inside…

 _Of course_ there wasn't a response. Hinata merely helped him until he got his prosthetic. It wasn't like she was his _girlfriend_ or _wife_ or anything...

For a moment he imagined what it would be like if he had actually heard her voice.

' _Welcome Back!'_

He could actually picture it. Her lovely smile warming his heart as her lips formed those magic words. Her scent permeating everything inside his household. The thought of her waiting for him made his heart flutter.

Sadly, this wasn't meant to be. She was his friend, his _precious comrade_. She was the person who held his hand in the war and kept him from the darkness. She didn't see him _that_ way.

Did she?

She _did_ tell him she loved him.

But in what way? As a friend? As a comrade? As a fellow citizen of Konoha?

The possibility that she could love him in a romantic way, was something that he rejected right away.

Seriously, who could love _him_ in _that_ sort of way?

Naruto had long ago accepted the fact that romantic love would forever be out of his reach. He could become the most renowned and acknowledged shinobi in the world, he could become the one hokage to surpass all other hokage, but he would _never_ find somebody to love him the same way his mother loved his father. He had accepted that this was the _one_ dream, he would never be able to achieve.

Contrary to popular belief, Naruto's childhood wasn't entirely friendless. He might have been the nine-tails jinchuriki, he might have been considered a nuisance and people might have shunned him and told him to stay out of their freaking way, but he wasn't abused, he wasn't chased around by angry mobs and there were actually _boys_ around his age, like Choji and Shikamaru who seemed to actually _like_ having him around and even played with him.

The _girls_ on the other hand...

...The girls around his age _really_ didn't want him to be around them. Ino treated him like a leper, putting her nose up high and telling him he was beneath her, TenTen threatened him that she would use him as a target practise if he ever approached her again, while Sakura… well... the less said about the way Sakura treated him back then, the better. She eventually came to see him as a friend and comrade, but deep inside he knew that she never had and never would develop any sort of romantic feelings for him…

...When she told him she "loved" him back in Iron Country, he didn't buy it for a _microsecond_.

As for Hinata...

...It's safe to assume that she felt the same way as the rest of the girls felt about him. After all, she never approached him and she never talked to him back when they were kids. And whenever he happened to be close to her, she just turned red and looked away from him. She didn't insult him, threaten him, or hurt him like the rest of the girls, she just… seemed uncomfortable around him...

...She probably considered him a nuisance too…

...Then why did she tell him that he was a "proud failure"? That she got an intense feeling in her heart whenever she saw him? Why did she tell him during the chuunin exams that she "didn't want him to disappear"?

All the other girls at that time most certainly seemed to want him to just disappear…

* * *

A loud growl from his stomach interrupted his train of thought.

"Oh, right. I need to eat something."

He sat down in front of the table and took out Hinata's bento-box from the bag, placing it directly in front of him. A heavenly smell hit him as he opened it and saw the food that she had prepared for him: Chopped Pork with vegetables glazed with what he came to recognize as her "special sauce".

Vegetables… Funny...

If you were to ask him a couple of months ago about what sort of food he despises, vegetables would be at the top of his list. Kakashi-Sensei at some point tried to get him to eat them more regularly but it didn't stick. He made it look like a joke and Naruto simply wrote it off as one of the many things his sensei deliberately did in order to piss him off.

But with Hinata it was different…

Maybe it was the way she pleaded with him to get him to eat them.

Maybe it was the way she prepared them trying to make them as tasty as possible.

Maybe it was the way she seemed to actually _care_ about him.

Whatever the reason was, he was now, for the first time in his life, eating vegetables regularly _and enjoying it._

He never thought he would enjoy eating vegetables…

But, then again, he never thought she would actually go through with her promise _and stick with it!_

And yet she did! After that first day where she showed up with Kiba and Shino and cleaned his apartment, she's been making food for him and looking after him ever since.

As he placed some more of Hinata's delicious cooking inside his mouth, his mind went back to girls.

They certainly didn't like him back then, but how about now?

Ino, Sakura and TenTen didn't blatantly tell him to get out of their sight anymore,which was an improvement, but he could tell that they weren't interested in him either. They liked him as a person and a friend and nothing else. And he was pretty sure that Hinata's feelings towards him didn't change much from what they were during their childhood years, since she still seemed somewhat uncomfortable when she was around him.

As for the girls who _seemed_ to be interested in him…

He first found out he had "fangirls" a few days after he got out of the hospital, about a week after Hinata showed up to clean his house. He bumped into a bunch of them on the way home from the hospital who told him that they "loved Naruto-Senpai" and that they wanted to spend some time with him.

So he took them all out for ramen and out of curiosity asked them why they liked him so much. He wasn't fishing for compliments, he genuinely wanted to find out why would someone, _anyone_ be interested in him.

The girls proceeded to talk about how dreamy and good looking he was, about what a capable and strong Shinobi he was, about being the person who defeated Pein, who sealed Kaguya, who saved the world, who… who… who…

 _Who the hell were they talking about?_

Because the person that they were describing seemed to be quite a different person from whom he actually was. A caricature of sorts with all his good parts exaggerated and all his bad parts overlooked. It soon became apparent to him that they weren't interested in the real Naruto, but rather the ideal Naruto that they had formed in their minds.

He had a feeling (or rather a _certainty_ ) that if those girls were to know the real him, the prankster who vandalized the Hokage monument, the screwup who farted his way out of the preliminaries in the chuunin exams…

...The weakling whose incompetence got one of his best friends _killed_ during the 4th Shinobi War…

...They would be severely disillusioned and disappointed. Those girls didn't love and _could_ _never_ _love_ "Naruto the failure". Rather, they loved "Uzumaki Naruto", the perfect Knight in shining armor, the fearless and infallible warrior…

...The "Hero" with a capital "H"...

He scoffed and snorted in disgust.

Him… A "Hero"... What a joke...

Naruto looked once more at the gift Hinata gave him on the day she first visited his house. It was a Naruto-shaped "Chopstick Helper". It was orange with spiked hair and was wearing a Konoha headband on its forehead. It had whiskers on its cheeks and it was forming a "ram" seal, as if it was about to perform the "Shadow-Clone Jutsu".

Naruto couldn't help but resent it somehow…

Part of it was because Hinata didn't feed him anymore now that he had it, but there was also something else…

...something deeper...

There was a time is his life when he was shunned by everyone in the village. When people actively feared him and loathed him for being the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki. But through his struggles and his actions in the war, he became acknowledged not only by his own village, but also the rest of the villages that comprised the newly formed Shinobi Alliance. He was now the most recognizable face in the whole shinobi world. There wasn't a day that didn't pass by when somebody didn't stop him on the street and didn't thank him or congratulate him. Kids were now calling him 'Naruto-Senpai' and asked him to teach them his moves...

...And shops were now selling merchandize in his own image...

...Because he was now considered "a Hero".

Somehow he couldn't look at himself as a "Hero" anymore. Not after people fought wars, put their lives on the line and _died_ trying to protect him. People who never seeked glory or recognition, but rather sacrificed themselves for what they thought was right. For their friends... for their families…

People like Neji…

The **real** heroes of this world will never be as famous as him. They will never get their faces on a shirt or their images plastered on an action figure. They will never have a "chopstick helper" shaped after them. They will never be recognized and they will never be acknowledged. At most they will be honoured and remembered by the people that loved them, the people who lost them, the people who cried for them...

People like Hinata…

The person who lost her cousin because of his weakness, pulled him out of his despair and was now helping him get back on his feet by literally becoming his right hand. The person who made the meal he was enjoying right now.

Why wasn't _she_ considered a hero? Why didn't anyone acknowledge _her?_ Why didn't _she_ have a "chopstick helper" shaped after her? Yeah! A purple one with long hair, a Konoha headband on her neck and…

...and _what the heck was he thinking_? How did he go from thinking about the war to imagining what a Hinata-shaped "chopstick helper" would look like?

Lately it seemed like his mind kept coming back to her. No matter what he did, no matter what he was contemplating, he would always think about her in some way, shape or form. Whenever he saw a flower, he would think about smelling it with her. Whenever he was eating something he would fantasize about eating it with her. And whenever girls tried to talk to him he would think about what it would be like to talk to her instead.

It was as if… as if she was becoming a part of him.

It's probably because she was now helping him with his hand and all that…

Yeah… That was probably it…

Still… it would have been nice if a Hinata-shaped "Chopstick Helper" actually existed. He would buy it in a heartbeat!

He smiled as he took another bite from the food she had prepared for him. It tasted great!

Hinata was incredible, wasn't she? She was a great cook, she was kind, she was gentle, she was soft spoken…

...she was _beautiful_ …

...she would make a great wife to someone, some day...

...a great... wife… to someone...

An image of Hinata in a wedding dress flashed in front of his eyes. She was happily walking down the aisle holding a bouquet of flowers. She was smiling and she was happy as she approached the man who was about to marry her. He couldn't make out the groom's features, he could be anyone. But he was with her, he was making her happy and _it wasn't him!_

Naruto felt his eyes get wet. Why did the mere thought of Hinata marrying someone make his chest hurt so much?

Hinata is a wonderful person! She deserves to find someone that makes her happy! Right?

Right!

The tears… They kept coming out! _Why couldn't he make them stop?_

He heard a knock on his door. Who could it be at a time like this?

"Naruto-kun, it's me. I am going out on a mission soon and I've come to check up on you, before I go. Do you need my help in anything?"

No! Not now! Not when he was like this!

"Uh… No! Ev-Everything is fine! Th-Thank you for asking."

"Are you sure? You don't _sound_ fine."

Why was he stammering? Why was he _choking_?

"I-I said, I'm fine! **Please go away!** "

"Are you… crying…?"

"N-No! I-I'm…"

"Naruto-kun, please open up! I need to see you!"

He quickly went on the toilet and splashed some water on his face before approaching the door. He quickly wiped his face, took a deep breath and tried to compose himself. He needed to appear as cheerful and happy as possible before facing her.

"I'm fine! See? All's well!"

"Naruto-kun, why is your shirt wet?"

Crap! In his panic he hadn't thought about changing his shirt. Not that he would be able to put it on quickly with one hand anyway.

"And why are your cheeks all puffy and red?

"It's nothing, OK? Please, let me be!"

He felt her arms wrap around him as she pulled him into a tight hug.

"Hinata, what are you doing?"

"You don't have to tell me what happened if you don't feel like it. I just want you to know that I will always be by your side when you need me. I will always be there for you. No matter what."

He allowed himself to melt inside her arms, using his left intact hand to pull her closer. He wanted to feel more of her, to be closer to her. He was afraid that if he let go of her now, he would lose her forever.

"Hey, Hinata, can I ask you something weird?"

"What is it?"

"Can you please repeat what you just said'?"

"No matter what?"

"No, the other part, before it."

"Why?"

"Please… I need to hear it."

"I will always be there for you."

"Please, one more."

"I will always be there for you."

"One more."

"I will always be there for you."

He closed his eyes and inhaled her scent as she kept saying it. It felt intoxicating. Her touch, her warmth, made him feel…

...he couldn't quite describe it! But whatever it was, he hadn't felt anything like it before.

"Please… say it to me one more time…"

She bought her face close to him, looked up at him and gave him her warmest smile. He felt like his heart was going to rip itself out of his chest!

"I will _always_ be there for you, Naruto-kun! No matter what!"

Her lips! They looked so… inviting! He wanted to…

* * *

A voice was heard from below.

"YO! BOSS! THERE YOU ARE! I WAS LOOKING ALL OVER KONOHA FOR YOU! I'VE GOT THIS SUPER ULTRA PERVERTED JUTSU I NEED TO SHOW YOU, KORE!

The realization that they now had an audience in Konohamaru snapped Naruto out of his trance and made Hinata jump in shock. They instinctively pulled away from each other and turned their backs on one another. Hinata put her hood on and pulled her jacket's straps to hide her face as much as possible while Naruto pretended to focus on something that was apparently stuck on his door.

"Thanks for checking up on me Hinata! As you can see, I am all right now! Hahaha!"

"Y-yeah! I'm glad you're okay now, Naruto-kun! I have to go on my mission now! Bye!"

Hinata jumped on the roof and dashed away from Naruto as fast as her feet allowed. Naruto on the other hand jumped down from his apartment landing right next to his protegee.

Konohamaru looked at him curiously.

"Uhm… Boss… Did I come at a bad time?"

Naruto mentally chastised himself. If Konohamaru hadn't showed up at that precise moment he would have tried to…

"No, your timing was perfect, in fact."

"Uhm, really? I didn't interrupt anything?"

What would have happened if he had actually tried to do it? If he had actually pressed his luck and tried to take this further?

Naruto looked over at the direction of Hinata who was now a small dot in the distance. The fact that she was now running away from him as fast as she could told him all he needed to know.

She would _freak out_. She would be gentle in letting him down, sure, she wouldn't be as violent as Sakura or as cruel as some of the other girls whom he asked out in the past, but she would still reject him.

At the end of the day, he was important to her but she didn't love him.

Not in a romantic way at least.

Honestly, _who could?_

"Nothing that should have happened anyway." said Naruto with a sigh.

"Huh? What's the heck is that supposed to mean?"

Naruto gently ruffled Konohamaru's hair and gave him one of his patented grins.

"Never mind that! Why don't we go somewhere private and you show me that awesome new jutsu you developed!"

"All right boss! I have developed an awesome new perverted jutsu that can defeat Shinobi and Kunoichi _at the same time!"_

"Okay, _this_ I've got to see…"

* * *

About a few miles away from the perverted jutsu specialists, Kiba and Shino were wondering why Hinata still had her hood on and why she refused to face them directly.

"Did something happen between you and Naruto?"

The white-eyed kunoichi got even redder under her hood. She couldn't believe what had just happened! She hugged Naruto! His face was so close! She could practically feel his breath on her lips!

He looked so handsome! She wanted to kiss him! To lower his face down and bring his lips down to hers. Why, oh why didn't she take that opportunity when she had the chance?

Images of lips connecting and tongues twirling flashed in front of her eyes.

And did she really feel something _emerge_ from Naruto around her waist area?

Her face was practically sizzling. Shino swore he saw smoke rise from her forehead.

"No-Nothing happened!"

' _Unfortunately.'_ she thought silently.

"Uhm… Shino, Kiba... do we pass by any waterfalls on the way to our mission destination?"

"I think so, why?"

"I need to go train under one for a few hours."

"Are you insane? It's the middle of the winter! The water is going to be ice cold right now!

" _Good!"_

* * *

Naruto's entire body was filled with a strange warmth as he felt the angel's arms wrap around him.

"Please don't ever leave me. I need you." he told her desperately.

He felt the angel's lips move through his shirt.

"What did you just say?

"What do you think of my 'Shinobi-Gone-Wild Jutsu', boss?"

"Huh?"

* * *

Naruto came back to his senses to see Konohamaru standing in front of him.

"I said what did you think of my new ultra perverted jutsu?"

"Uhm… It was quite good, Konohamaru! Keep up the good work."

The young ninja looked at his one-armed master concerned. Naruto was the inventor of the Sexy Jutsu, and the Harem Jutsu. He inspired him to create the "Reverse-Harem Jutsu" which, he later found out, was instrumental in defeating the rabbit goddess Kaguya and saving the world.

(Okay, it didn't really defeat her, Kaguya recovered nearly immediately from it, but Konohamaru was never one to let facts to get in the way of a good ego-boost.)

For him to be so out of focus while he was performing his newest ultimate technique was…

"Hey boss, is everything OK?"

"Yeah, yeah, Konohamaru, everything is fine."

"But, you are not screaming enthusiastically, you are not having nosebleeds like you normally do. Are you sure there's nothing wrong?"

Naruto sighed. Seriously, what was wrong with him? In the past, he would not only pay close attention to Konohamaru's sexy techniques but also give him perverted pointers on how to improve them. He would then try to one-up him by coming up with something even more perverted, at which point Konohamaru would swear that he would defeat him, and they would both go practising what they developed on unsuspecting civilians and shinobi. It was their thing.

This time though he couldn't get into it like he used to. His heart just wasn't into it for some reason…

He was still thinking about Hinata. His body still remembered the warmth of her embrace. How can you perform perverted techniques when your mind is fixated on a girl's angelic smile? Her kindness, her concern, her generosity?

"It's nothing Konohamaru… I guess I am just… growing up…"

* * *

 **BONUS SCENE:**

* * *

Naruto stared blankly at the distance. He now knew what true hell, what true isolation was. It wasn't being stranded in a desert, it wasn't being trapped in the mindscape, it wasn't even sleeping alone in an empty apartment with noone by your side..

No, true isolation was being surrounded and stuck with people that made you _feel_ isolated.

Such as the fangirls that were talking in front of him right now.

He tried to tuning in back to their conversation…

"Blah, blah, blah… and then you did that move that... Blah, blah, blah…"

Oh, they were _still_ talking about his fights... Okay...

He tuned back out.

He knew in his heart of hearts that those girls were not bad people. But the way they talked about him and idolized him, like he was some sort of _deity_ made him feel uneasy.

When they asked him to tell them a story about his childhood, he honestly didn't know what to tell them. His childhood was painful and lonely. It was a very sensitive subject for him. He wasn't very comfortable in sharing his pain with anyone…

...except Hinata.

So he lied. He told them a bunch of tall tales that he pulled out of thin air and told them that everything about his childhood was excellent. That he was the top student in his class, that he had lots of friends…

...and they bought it. They believed every word he said. Because he was their precious "Senpai".

Naruto hated every minute of it. He hated himself for doing this.

So he stood silently, spoke as little to the girls as he could and prayed for the sweet release of death.

Taking them out at Ichiraku's for ramen was a really bad idea.

Thankfully Teuchi picked up on this and made sure that Naruto's table got served as fast as possible. He could sense that he didn't want to spend more time with those girls than what was required to be tactful.

Naruto looked at the generous serving of ramen and reached for the chopsticks.

One of the girls grabbed them before he did, and approached him as seductively as she could. She looked at him with "puppy-dog eyes" while taking extra care to give him a generous view of her cleavage.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"It must be hard to eat with one hand Naruto-Senpai. Why don't you let me feed you?"

He grabbed the chopsticks from her hand and then placed them back on the table. He then grabbed the "Chopstick Helper" that Hinata gave to him, held it with his mouth and placed the chopsticks inside it.

"I appreciate the offer and all, but I really need to do this on my own."

"Oh…"

"Uhm… Could you please sit a little bit… further? I don't want to get any ramen broth on your clothes."

"You're so thoughtful, Naruto-Senpai!"

Naruto exhaled with relief as the girl went back to her chair and he placed a generous amount of ramen in his mouth.

He was certain she meant well and all, but the thought of a girl other than Hinata helping him out and feeding him somehow felt…

 _Wrong!_

It felt _wrong_ to have a girl other than Hinata by his side.

How long before she comes back from her mission, he wondered…

He wanted to hang out with her again!

* * *

 **Side Story: How she did it.**

* * *

Tsunade looked at the documents that were lying in front of her desk and then at the kunoichi that was currently standing in front of her. She had to do a double-take and reread the whole thing because she couldn't believe what she was actually reading.

"So let me get this straight, Hyuga Hinata-san…"

"Yes, Hokage-sama?"

"You wish, to _turn down_ your promotion to jounin?"

"That is correct, yes."

The fifth Hokage took a deep breath and tried to compose herself. So she _didn't_ read the documents incorrectly.

After the end of the 4th Shinobi War, most of the kids that previously comprised the so called "Konoha Twelve" (actually Konoha Eleven now that Hyuga Neji had sadly passed away) minus Naruto and Sasuke had received a jounin promotion. They had proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that they were all strong and capable shinobi and that they could handle themselves quite well under pressure in times of peace and conflict. The acting daimyo felt that a lot of them didn't even need to take an exam for it.

Hinata's record during the 4th Shinobi war was especially impressive. She was able to operate with her byakugan activated for days, and endured in battle when even her cousin Neji was getting seriously fatigued. When the juubi awakened and her own cousin died during the war -her cousin being a person to whom she was especially close- she composed herself and kept Naruto from giving in to the enemy. And when push came to shove and she needed to directly protect Naruto from falling to the enemy's hands, she combined her own Twin-Lion Fists technique with the ancient 64-Palms technique of the Hyuga clan and took out a great part of the incoming enemy's forces. She was practically a shoo in for jounin…

...and she was _turning that down_!

"May I ask the reasons why you are turning down such a promotion?"

"There's someone who needs me… I need to be there for him."

There was no doubt in Tsunade's mind who that 'someone' was. Hinata's love about Naruto may have been 'Team Eight's S-Ranked secret' but _everyone_ in Konoha knew how she felt about him…

...Everyone except Naruto that is…

"You know, his hand is going to be ready in a few months. He is probably not going to keep you around after that."

"I know. And _I am still planning to stand by him during that time_. I gave him my word and _I am not going to go back on it_. That's **our** ninja way."

The acting Hokage felt a migraine coming. She furiously rubbed her temples and then threw a non-chakra-enhanced punch on the table.

"You overly-sentimental, lovesick **idiot!** This isn't something minor you are turning down, it's the freaking _jounin position!_ An offer from _the daimyo himself!_ It's something shinobi struggle to achieve _all their lives_! Most of them don't even get a chance to get it!"

She got off the desk and approached Hinata furiously. The poor girl needed to get through to her skull that she was making a grievous mistake.

"Do you even realise what turning down this promotion means? It means that the acting daimyo will be insulted! It means that you will most likely be the only person in your class who will never be promoted! It means that your teammates Shino and Kiba will eventually outrank you and that you will become their subordinate! It means that you will be a chuunin and receive no higher than B-Ranked missions most likely for the rest of your life! Is this what you really want? Do you really want to make that sort of sacrifice for him?"

"Yes." Hinata said simply. Without any shred of a doubt.

Tsunade sat back down on her desk and slammed her face on it. The poor girl was hopeless.

"As long as you understand what is at stake here..."

The Fifth Hokage looked up at the white-eyed kunoichi once more.

"You want something else from me, don't you? Or else you wouldn't request an audience with me, you would just send me the rejection by mail."

"Yes." said Hinata again.

"What is it? Spill it out!"

The white-eyed chuunin approached the desk and addressed her boss. There wasn't any threat or malice in her voice, but the acting Hokage could tell that this was something that was extremely important.

"Please synchronize Naruto-kun's schedule with mine."

" _What?"_

"Every time that he comes out of the Hospital or is back in Konoha from a mission I need to be there for him. Please arrange my mission schedule in accordance to this."

The acting hokage grabbed herself by her hair and looked up at Hinata intently. She attempted to stare her down, but the white-eyed kunoichi was so determined that she could outstare the sun.

"You know this is a big favor you are asking me to do."

"Yes."

"And you are _just asking me_ to do it like this? You are not going to offer me _anything_ in return? Some sort of bribe or compensation to motivate me to do this?"

"I sincerely apologize. I believed that the fact that we both care about Naruto-kun was motivating enough. Nevertheless, if you wish for me to get you anything or do something for you in exchange for this, I will be more than happy to oblige."

A wide smile formed on Tsunade's lips. She laid back on her chair and exhaled.

"I will see what I can do Hyuga Hinata-san. You are dismissed."

"Thank you Hokage-Sama."

The young kunoichi stood up and bowed gently as she exited the room. She then gave Tsunade one of her warmest smiles and closed the door.

"Shizune!" she yelled to the lone woman who was standing outside. "Cancel all my appointments for the rest of the evening! The Hokage's office is closed for the rest of the day!"

The young secretary scrambled in panic and started going through the Hokage's now-cancelled schedule. She had a long day ahead of her, both inside her office and outside of it. She picked up the phone, took a deep breath and steeled herself for the incoming rage and verbal abuse that was inevitably coming her way.

Inside the Hokage's office, after making sure that nobody was watching and that no ANBU members were going to approach her for a while, the fifth Hokage reached for the bottom drawer of her desk. She took out a key that she had placed on a special necklace around her neck and carefully unlocked it.

That place in her desk, that drawer was _sacred_ to her. She didn't want anyone else to know about it and _desecrate_ it. She had already made arrangements with her successor to get its contents specially sealed and sent to her personally. It was going to be the only thing that she would take from her office back to her civilian life.

It contained Jiraya's letters, a copy of his only non-smutty book "Tales of the Gutsy Ninja", the gifts that he had given her over the years, and a picture of him smiling and giving her the victory sign in his trademarked outfit and kabuki makeup.

They were her anchor, her strength, what kept her going when her schedule became overly packed and she had to spend inhumanly long hours inside the hokage's office. They were what motivated her to stick through thick and thin, to face danger and adversity and protect the village and its people when all seemed lost and a powerful enemy invaded. They reminded her that, no matted what happened, she always had someone who cared for her, and _loved her!_

And then she sent him in a dangerous mission in Rain Country and got him killed.

She wasn't quite the person she used to be after that.

Jiraya's picture was placed on her desk as she took out a bottle of sake that she always kept in the cupboard behind her and poured herself a glass.

"For someone to love and sacrifice so much for him… without expecting anything in return… Your student is really lucky to have someone like her in his life…"

The sake burned as it went down her throat. It left a bitter taste inside her mouth.

Come to think of it, that girl's situation was similar to Jiraya's, wasn't it? Sure, she wasn't a pervert, at least not a covert one like Jiraya, but she also went through extraordinary lengths to support the person she loved. She put her life on the line and made sacrifices for someone… without expecting anything...

...because she _loved_ that someone…

...Just like Jiraya loved her.

Why didn't she appreciate what he was doing for her while he was still alive? Why did she always chastise and belittle him whenever she saw him? Why did she always dismiss him as an 'old pervert' whenever he attempted to flirt with her and get closer to her?

Why did Jiraya have to **die** in order for her to realise that she had feelings for him?

Because she was a **moron,** that's why. Just like…

"I… I just hope that gaki comes to appreciate what that girl is doing for him. To come to accept her feelings and cherish her before he hurts her or he loses her. Or both. I hope... they don't end up… like **us**!"

She drank another glass of sake and fought back the tears. She was too old to cry. It was _too late_ to cry.

She placed Jiraya's picture back inside the desk and the sake back on her cupboard. Now was not the time to get drunk and break down. She took out Naruto and Hinata's mission schedules from the filing cabinet and placed them right next to each other.

"Now… Let's see… What do those weird star symbols mean again?"

She contemplated this for about five seconds.

"Screw it, I'll just copy the one over the other."

* * *

 **Whew! That was a long one! I really hope I didn't bore you to death and that you enjoyed the bonus scene and the side story.**

 **I found it odd that Hinata was still a Chuunin in "The Last" movie, so I made the Side Story to explain why she is the only one from the "Konoha 12″ that didn't get promoted. I hope you enjoyed that particular headcannon.**

 **I really wanted to delve into Naruto's psyche in this chapter. I wanted to set up his mindset and his conflict early because it's going to pay a huge part into what happens later in the story (provided that I get to update it, of course). I wanted to give him a better motive for not getting together with Hinata than what is commonly harped "he didn't realize he was in love with her". It does temporarily play a factor to this story, but there is something much more traumatic at play here that I wish to explore.**

 **Do you like my interpretation of Naruto's psyche? Do you agree? Do you like the direction this story is taking? If so, please leave a review. I really appreciate it and it drives me to write more.**


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